CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT CONCLUDES 2015 SESSION

The Conference on Disarmament this afternoon adopted its annual report to the United Nations General Assembly and concluded its 2015 session today.

Ambassador Dell Higgie of New Zealand, President of the Conference on Disarmament, thanked all delegations for the constructive spirit in the preparation of the report. The Conference proceeded to adopt the report, paragraph by paragraph. The report will be uploaded here. The Group of 21 had submitted a working paper, which would be added to the report under paragraph 59 and submitted to the General Assembly as such.

Ms. Higgie said that 2016 would mark the twentieth anniversary since the Conference had managed to adopt its last programme of work. During the term of New Zealand’s Presidency, two important events had taken place elsewhere: the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty in Cancun, Mexico, and the First Review Conference of the Cluster Munition Convention in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Both were reminders of what had been achieved in other fora. If the choice was between not conducting any negotiations in the Conference and doing a worthwhile negotiation outside of the constraining context of its rules of procedure, the latter was certainly a better option.

Republic of Korea, India, China, France, the Netherlands, Iran, Iran on behalf of the Group of 21, Algeria, Mexico, United States, Russian Federation and Kenya spoke in today’s plenary.

YOUNG-JIP AHN, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, delivered his farewell address. During his brief time at the Conference, the disagreements between its Members had not affected the sense of companionship and the feeling of common goal. The Ambassador shared his sense of frustration over the lack of progress, which had been the case for almost two decades. It was the time to return the sense of vitality to the Conference, as the memories of successes were fading.

India thanked the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea for his excellent cooperation and wished him all the best in his future endeavours. India shared the disappointment that a programme of work had not been adopted, but a number of substantive, in-depth discussions had taken place on the four agenda items. Given the limitations, the Conference had done well, but could still do better in 2016.

China said that it was impressed by the professionalism and the sense of tolerance of the departing Ambassador of the Republic of Korea. China expressed its heartfelt appreciation and admiration for the Presidency of New Zealand. Rules of consensus had to be respected and actions which would undermine the rules of the procedure had to be avoided. The practice of adding footnotes to the annual report should not be regarded as a precedent.

France said that the discussions on the report had been difficult, but thanks to the collective intelligence and the leadership of the New Zealand team the 2015 report had eventually been adopted by consensus. The Conference should avoid stressing what divided it, while the work done on the schedule of activities should not be underestimated. Frustration over the standstill of the Conference was shared, but the rule of consensus was the essential pillar of multilateralism.


Netherlands thanked the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea for his contributions to the Conference.

Iran stated that the Conference had no substitute as the single and autonomous multilateral negotiating forum. In Iran’s view, efforts should be made towards substantive work rather than changing methodology. All Members were called to strengthen their collective wisdom.

Iran, speaking on behalf of Group of 21, stated that the total elimination of nuclear weapons was the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Pending the achievement of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, the Group of 21 reaffirmed the urgent need to reach an early agreement on a universal, unconditional and legally binding instrument to effectively assure non-nuclear weapons States against the use of threat of use of nuclear weapons. The establishment of nuclear weapons free zones was a positive step and an important measure towards strengthening global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The Group of 21 welcomed the General Assembly Resolution 69/66, which decided to convene the Third Conference of States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear Weapons Free Zones and Mongolia as a one-day Conference in New York in 2015 under the Presidency of Indonesia. The Group of 21 reiterated its strong support for the early establishment in the Middle East of a zone free of all nuclear weapons. The Group of 21 was disappointed and deeply concern that three States parties had blocked consensus on the draft outcome document of the ninth Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. The urgency of Israel’s accession to the Treaty without further delay was reaffirmed.

Algeria supported the statement made by Iran, on behalf of the Group of 21, but expressed reservations related to the mentioning of the Presidency of the Third Conference of States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia in New York.

Mexico stated that a factual report to be submitted to the General Assembly did not need to be balanced in terms of positive or negative aspects. The General Assembly should be able to visualize the real situation of the Conference during 2015. Some verbal attacks on the Mexican Presidency in recent weeks had come from those who seemed to believe in consensus only when it worked in their favour.

United States said that reaching consensus on the report could be explained by the sense of responsibility by most Members of the Conference. While consensus had been eventually reached, there had been efforts to promote an unbalanced text during the drafting stages. With all its flaws, the Conference remained an invaluable forum. The United States wished the best of luck to the departing Ambassador of the Republic of Korea.

Russian Federation noted that the annual report reflected the balance of interests of the Conference Members. No delegation could be fully pleased with the final version from the point of view of national interests, but that was the very essence of the compromise. The potential of the Conference was far from being fully harnessed. Best wishes were expressed to the departing Ambassador of the Republic of Korea.

Kenya said that it was a matter of great concern and disappointment that 2015 was another year in which no headway had been made in the Conference. It was incumbent on the membership to reinvigorate its efforts and demonstrate its genuine commitment.

The 2016 session of the Conference will begin on 25 January 2016.


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC15/045E